Fancy Footwork

fancy footwork & next step fund

Next Fancy Footwork performances:
May 1 at 7pm, May 2 at 7pm, and May 3 at 2pm
Black Box Theatre, Armstrong Center for Dance
1075 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204

fancy footwork

Join Artists of Colorado Ballet for Fancy Footwork, a dancer-produced and choreographed performance. This year’s production of Fancy Footwork features artist-favorite classical pieces as well as new works from three Colorado Ballet dancers, with original costumes, set and lighting designs.

All proceeds (from ticketing, donations and the Silent Auction) go towards the Next Step Fund, a grant created to financially support and facilitate career change for Colorado Ballet company dancers, ideally to help them realize their transition plan well before reaching that milestone moment. Guests attending the performances will have the opportunity to bid on one-of-a-kind items and experiences in a silent auction tailored by Artists of Colorado Ballet. Don’t miss this celebration of dance for a good cause!

Subscriber Pre-Sale: February 23, 2026, at 10 a.m.
Public On-Sale: February 27, 2026, at 10 a.m.

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Artists of Colorado Ballet by Andrew Fassbender

next step fund

The Next Step Fund seeks to assist Artists of Colorado Ballet with funding to pursue business and educational opportunities in careers outside of the performance stage. Primarily funded through the performance produced by Artists of Colorado Ballet, Fancy Footwork, the Next Step Fund is able to provide small grants to help these Artists make the leap towards a new profession.

Colorado Ballet extends credit and gratitude to Demi-Soloist Sean Omandam for his instrumental work in founding and creating the Next Step Fund and Fancy Footwork in 2011. Omandam decided to start the fund because he wanted dancers to feel empowered in their professional lives so that “the moment they take their final bow, they’re ready to take their next steps off the stage and into pursuing their passion of choice with some financial support.

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Testimonials

Working on Fancy Footwork was an incredibly rewarding experience. As part of the sound team, I gained a deeper appreciation for the technical side of live performance and the collaboration required to bring a production to life. During my five years as a corps de ballet member at Colorado Ballet, I saw how Fancy Footwork creates opportunities for dancers beyond the stage. The Next Step Fund helped me cover a fall 2024 course at the University of Massachusetts, where I am pursuing a degree in Arts Management. That support kept me on track academically without needing to endure extra financial strain. Now, as I prepare to start my MBA this summer, I realize how much of an advantage this assistance has given me. Not having to cover that course cost has made graduate school a more manageable step. Programs like the Next Step Fund are essential in helping dancers transition into new careers while building on the skills developed throughout their performing careers.
- Alex Roy

Testimonial 1

The Next Step Fund was an invaluable resource during my transition from CB to graduate school. Transitions can be overwhelming and complex, especially when it comes to financial challenges. Having access to the Next Step Fund and the support from my colleagues at CB gave me the confidence to pursue my next career path. Since leaving CB, I’ve earned a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology, started a private practice, and am now in the final stages of completing my doctorate in Counseling Psychology. Funds like these offer invaluable support for dancers who wish to engage in career transitions requiring additional education or relocation. Please consider donating to support CB’s dancers when they retire from the stage!
- Arianna Shimits

Testimonial 2

I had the greatest pleasure of being invited to collaborate with my dear friend, Jeremy Studinski, on his very successful choreographic project. I was commissioned to not only design but also construct costumes for Jeremy’s work ‘New Lease (On Life)’ for Fancy Footwork’s 2024 performances. The process was very involved much like any huge production in the art community. We spoke months in advance on what the concept would be and how the overall look for his piece will be. Jeremy provided me with characters, and a very detailed synopsis in which I was able to contribute my thoughts for creating the costumes seen in his work. Even with the change in casting and time restrictions the wonderful wardrobe members of Colorado Ballet were more than helpful in making everything come together for the final product. It is always wonderful to see one’s work come to life with so much talent involved (the dancers, musicians, lighting designers and obviously the choreographer… of and me) I would love to be apart of this experience again.
- Jaime Orrego

Testimonial 3

The Next Step funds I received helped pay my tuition at Cornell Law School. Since earning my JD magna cum laude in 2023, I have had the honor of clerking for judges on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. I am excited to return to private practice in NYC after completing my clerkships. These opportunities are a result of the funds I received from the Next Step program. Your generosity directly supports the artists who are taking their final bow today, but who are just starting a new chapter. And I am just one of many—seeing the success of my fellow dancers who have made their own career transitions is inspiring and demonstrates the value of investing in these artists.
- Tyler Rhoads

Testimonial 4

about: The broken land awakens

William Hill

Retired Principal Timpanist/Composer Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Music Director Evergreen Chamber Orchestra
Retired Composition Teacher University of Denver Lamont School of Music

I'm very honored to be asked to compose this piece for the Colorado Ballet. A couple of years ago Music Director Adam Flatt (who has for many years talked with me about composing a ballet) put Jeremy Studinski and me in touch with the idea that we would create a work together. We had numerous meetings discussing ideas and general outlines for the project. One thing that inspired me was Jeremy mentioning the artistic upheaval created by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring over 100 years ago and how he would be happy if we pushed some boundaries in a similar way. That's a big concept considering the wide spectrum of how music and dance have evolved in the last century and more.

Jeremy and I decided that for the Fancy Footwork program a pre-recorded score was best so we could use acoustic instruments and voices mixed with a fair amount of electronic sounds. My son Colin Hill is a very creative and excellent electronics composer and I asked him to join us in the project. Colin, Jeremy, and I had many fun, interesting, and productive meetings as we began to develop a story line. We all wanted to portray ideas that would invite the audience to use their imaginations, so the story would remain a bit abstract without too many details. The current situation in our divided country seemed perfect for this purpose. The section titles, and music and dance, describe a progression from darkness and division to an uplifting message of respect, hope, and resolution.

The Broken Land Awakens is a ballet of approximately 30 minutes covering a wide range of complex emotions from sadness to fear, confusion to clarity, and despair to hope, beauty, and joy. From our first conversations the three of us talked about how nothing in life is truly black or white, but we actually live in all the shades of gray between those extremes, white being a mixture of all colors of light, and black being a complete lack of light. I've always thought that in art (as in science) questions are much more interesting than answers. Answers are more or less a dead end for the imagination whereas questions leave openings for our imaginations to go in many different often abstract directions. This ballet is clearly more about questions than simple answers.

Music and dance are particularly adept at portraying ideas that are not so easily put into precise words. Several years ago Kevin Thomas did a beautiful choreography to a composition of mine called El Perro Azul for violin solo and orchestra, commissioned by the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra with the solo part composed for my daughter Nadya. The title is from a Gabriel Garcia Marquez short story filled with surrealism and mysticism. Having another opportunity to work with the Colorado Ballet, this time with Jeremy Studinski is something that was immediately appealing, and meeting Jeremy was like finding an artist who's ideas and philosophy are an excellent match for mine. Colin and I have enjoyed working with him immensely.

I'm very excited about this work and all of its creative potential, and looking forward to seeing Jeremy's choreography. Colin and I attended the Fancy Footworks program last year and loved it. We are all excited to see how The Broken Land Awakens affects the imaginations of every audience member. As mentioned above we have tried to leave room for individual interpretations and reactions. The musicians Colin recorded are some of the area's finest and also friends of ours. We have all performed together many times and for many years. Ron Bland on bass, Chuck Schneider on sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet, and Nadya Hill soprano and violinist have all performed many of my compositions and it's always a pleasure to hear their interpretations. Colin's knowledge of traditional and creative studio techniques always amazes me and his electronic compositions are like none other. All the electronic instrumental sounds and effects are Colin's, and I played numerous percussion instruments, piano, and Native American flute.

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